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But what really amazes me and saddens me is that before I joined FR, I truly believed that Catholics and Fundamentalists were compatible. Now I see that Fundamentalists see Catholics as useful idiots to be used in the political process and then consigned to hell as worshippers of a Satan-driven Church. I suppose you could say, therefore, that being on FR has made me more liberal. Like the left-wing, I now wouldn't vote for a Fundamentalist for any reason, but unlike the left-wing, I started out in your corner and you drove me away. I am sure there are some wonderful Fundamentalists on this site who can convince me I'm wrong, but the constant bigotry of folks like the usual suspects (who have, naturally, already posted in this thread), has made me want to steer very clear of the whole movement.

I hope everyone on FR reads this paragraph, and then reads it again, and then reads it again carefully.

If you want to destroy conservatism as an effective political force, drive wedges in it. Drive wedges between Mormon conservatives and everyone else, and tell the Mormons, "Keep out -- you're not wanted here". Drive wedges between Catholic conservatives and everyone else, and tell the Catholics, "Keep out -- you're not wanted here". Drive as many other wedges as you can think of to drive.

Divide and conquer has always worked, and it will always work if it's permitted to.

If you want to know why I voted for Mitt Romney and not Mike Huckabee, you have your answer. I can name 5 or 6 FReepers who alone convinced me to have nothing to do with Huckabee before ever looking at a single one of his positions.

Every one of the 5 or 6 is a vehemently anti-Catholic Protestant.

OMG, I know just what you mean. I had already felt it with some Fundamentalist friends that I had but they don’t have the anonymity of the internet to let it all hang out.

If you want to destroy conservatism as an effective political force, drive wedges in it. Drive wedges between Mormon conservatives and everyone else, and tell the Mormons, "Keep out -- you're not wanted here". Drive wedges between Catholic conservatives and everyone else, and tell the Catholics, "Keep out -- you're not wanted here". Drive as many other wedges as you can think of to drive.

I notice that you place all the burden on Fundamentalist Protestants. Have you ever considered that it is possible for a Catholic or a mormon to be a bigot? Or is this that "poor little minority vs. the masses of illiterate hayseeds" thing again?

It's not as if Fundamentalism owns conservatism. I'd say if conservatism had rulers those rulers would be Catholic rather than Fundamentalist--whether considering William F. Buckley Jr. or the place the Catholic Church holds in the hearts of the "palaeo" worshipers of "western civilization." In fact, the traditional Catholic hostility to Jews and Israel was very dominant in conservatism for a long, long time, despite the fact that pro-Israel Fundamentalists outnumber Catholics in the United States.

I don't suppose the fact that so many Catholics think that people who insist on total Biblical inerrancy are brain-damaged or retarded bothers you in the least? But I forget, I'm addressing the inventor of "Billy Bob's Glory Barn." I forget myself! Blacks can't be racists, and Catholics can't be bigots (except in Spain)!

If you want to destroy conservatism as an effective political force, drive wedges in it. Drive wedges between Mormon conservatives and everyone else, and tell the Mormons, "Keep out -- you're not wanted here". Drive wedges between Catholic conservatives and everyone else, and tell the Catholics, "Keep out -- you're not wanted here". Drive as many other wedges as you can think of to drive.

And there is a certain truth that some conservatives Protestants refuse to acknowledge and that is that it is IMPOSSIBLE to elect conservatives on a national level without Catholic support. Catholics make-up just under a quarter of the voters, drive Catholics away with bigotry and you will lose.

If you want to know why I voted for Mitt Romney and not Mike Huckabee, you have your answer. I can name 5 or 6 FReepers who alone convinced me to have nothing to do with Huckabee before ever looking at a single one of his positions. Every one of the 5 or 6 is a vehemently anti-Catholic Protestant.

This just shows how shallow your "conservatism" really is --